Welcome back to another edition of the Interlake Sports Now. I'm Josh Dugan, and it's a bit of a special show this week as we have a pair of Valley football teams who made it to the state title game in their respective class. And of course, you could say the Montana Super Bowl, almost the brawl of the wild Montana State versus Montana cat, Griz, whatever you want to call it.

It's going to be an epic week of football in the Treasure State. Let's dive into that quick reminder. Today's episode is brought to you by Nomad Vo …

Welcome back to another edition of the Interlake Sports Now. I'm Josh Dugan, and it's a bit of a special show this week as we have a pair of Valley football teams who made it to the state title game in their respective class. And of course, you could say the Montana Super Bowl, almost the brawl of the wild Montana State versus Montana cat, Griz, whatever you want to call it.

It's going to be an epic week of football in the Treasure State. Let's dive into that quick reminder. Today's episode is brought to you by Nomad Vo to the Flathead best manufacturer. Nomad is a long time supporter of our community and the local sports scene. So bring 20 years of building great career as a mission focused custom. Vehicles.

Nomad, a Montana based company making a global impact. Visit Nomad gci.com for more info. That's Nomad geeks.com for more information. All right, let's get to well, let's get to what will likely be our second to last fall sports update. Fall sports come to a close. Football season is almost over. Volleyball is wrapping up. Everything's coming to a close.

But we do have some exciting news we're going to get to. And let's dive into it. Starting with the class A football ranks where the Columbia Falls Wildcats are headed to the state title game for the third time in the last eight seasons under head coach Jackson Schweiger. The Wildcats beat Corvallis 19 to 7 on the road to earn a shot at their second ever state title.

Excuse me? Yeah, to win their second ever state title. Been there three times trying to win it for the second time in school history. Montana Griz commit Cody Schweitzer rushed for two short yardage touchdowns. Some freshman running back Daniel Johnson hit Jace Hill for a 23 yard touchdown pass on a halfback option before halftime to make things 19.

Nothing in the Wildcats favor little trickery to help the Wildcats get over the hump. Hill finished with seven catches for 73 yards, and Schweitzer was 12 of 15 passing for 123 yards while rushing 31 times for 56 yards. The Wildcats moved to nine and two with the win, and they'll meet an undefeated Dillon squad in the state title game next Saturday in Dillon.

Best of luck to the Wildcats. Got to love the local teams thriving in state title action, state playoffs, all that fun stuff. Really interesting to see how C falls fairs down south and Dillon. We'll definitely keep you updated on next week's show next week. We'll also be talking about this team, win or lose, the place for Wolfpack to punch their ticket to the class AA state title game with a 3514 win over Gallatin at Legend Stadium Friday night.

The Wolfpack defense came up huge on multiple occasions. They had four interceptions and a for safety. Easton Coffman led the way with two picks. Alex Hausmann had another and Cole Johnson came up with the interception in the glacier end zone with 46 seconds to play. To seal the win for Glacier Blazers, QB Jackson Presley ran for a touchdown in the first quarter to put blazer on the board, and finished 15 and 22 passing for 155 yards with no interceptions.

The Wolfpack had a strong presence on the ground for total rushing touchdowns. Colby Dorchester had one of those scores and led the team with 88 rushing yards on 18 carries. Casto, Chia and Isaac Kime have the other two rushing scores. This is the Wolfpack s first trip to the state title game since 2016, and they'll head east to take on Bozeman.

The Hawks will be playing host at Bozeman High School next Friday, so that'll be a fun. We'll definitely have some updates next week. The Wolf Pack's lone state title in school history was in 2014. Major kudos to the Glacier Wolfpack on their win over Gallatin to reach a state title game. That was one of the most physical, intense prep football games I've seen in a while.

Both teams were leaving it all on the field. Every single play. Definitely a hard earned win for the Wolfpack and we'll get them. We'll have them ready to roll next Friday as they take on the Bozeman Hawks, because that was a battle tested kind of a win before we move on to the Brawl the Wild preview. Let's get to our poster Player of the week, generously sponsored by your friends at Clark Auto Group here in Kalispell, featuring three local stores Clark, Nissan, Clark Honda and Mount Auto Marine, home of the 2999 oil change and the friendliest staff in town.

Joining us and making a difference this Thanksgiving season. Drop off your canned goods and nonperishable donation donations at Clark Nissan in Kalispell until Wednesday, November 15th. Help us gather the essentials to craft heartwarming meal bundles for those in need. Thank you again to Clark Auto Group for sponsoring our Poster Player of the week. Last week it was Columbia Falls QB Cody Sweitzer who'll be playing in the class AA state title game.

And you know, now we're going to have a player who's going to be playing in the state title game. And that is this week's Clark Auto Group poster player of the week. Glacier running back and defensive back cast of this year rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on eight carries to help the Wolfpack make the state title game for the first time since 2016.

Go to cheer. It's one of the most explosive players in the state. Simple as that. Every time he touches the ball is a threat to score. It's a big hitter on defense. Makes a lot of plays around the football next season. He's committed to play for the Montana Grizzlies. So Montana football fans, you'll have a chance to watch the Wolfpack playmaker take his talents to the next level.

Thanks again to the Clark Auto Group for helping us present this poster player of the week. Now on to some Cat Griz football talk. It's that time of the year. Montana sports fans. Let's get to our Brawl the Wild preview here on the Interlake Sports. Now this just brawl. All the while it's going to have some extra special circumstances.

circumstances. I'm a little too pumped up for the brawl because the winner will be the outright big Sky champion for the season. It's a battle of two top five teams in the country. This is going to be a special year for the brawl of the wild every year special, but this one's got a little added intensity. Winner will be the outright champion.

Top five teams. One of the best games in FCS all season long with some high stakes. Last year, Montana State won the game 55 to 21, in Bozeman. So it's back in Missoula this year. You know the Grizzlies will be hungry to protect home field and get bragging rights back on their side. That all being said, let's get to three key, three keys for each team to win this brawl.

The wild. So three keys for each team to win the brawl. The wild with the Bobcats first. And then we'll get to the grizzly. So for Montana State, the Grizzlies defense has been dominant the last three weeks. They've allowed 17 points across three football games. That's nearly impossible in this era of college football. That being said, Montana State, if they can jump out to an early lead and force the Grizzlies to play from behind, that could be a major key to help the Bobcats win because the Grizzlies flat out haven't had to play in close games the last few weeks, they've been steamrolling teams they know how to win close games.

That being said, it's been three weeks since they've really had a tight one since they've been struggling, had to play from behind for most of the game or late in the game. If Montana State can get out to a lead with that rushing attack, they're almost impossible to stop because they can control the tempo with that rushing attack.

Really control time, possession, field possession, all of those names. So if you're Montana State, you want to be aggressive early and get out to an early lead because that could really cause some problems for the Grizz. Number two for Montana State to win, I think we need to see heavy doses of Sean Chambers early and often at quarterback.

We know Tommy lots going to get here as he does it weekend and week out with his arms and his legs. Overall playmaker, elite quarterback as a runner and he's made major leaps as a passer happy and said chambers could be the X factor to push them over the top. He could be that difference maker in the Idaho loss for Montana State, chambers had three carries and zero pass attempts.

You got to think now and another top tier battle. I think that was a top five battle. This is going to be a top five battles. Well, we're going to see more Sean Chambers early and often. Chambers has nine passing touchdowns and 14 more more touchdowns with his legs this year. He's rushed for 14 already as the backup quarterback.

You got to get him involved in the pro all the while, no doubt about it, because we saw what happened versus Idaho when we didn't see Marshawn Chambers. The Bobcats looked a little bit more beatable. Chambers can be that X-Factor number three. If Montana State wants to win this game, they need to get pressure on the quarterback and keep Clifton McDowell in the pocket.

Do not allow him to extend plays because once he starts getting outside the pocket, he starts finding guys like Junior Bird and Keelan White in open space, and that causes problems for any defense. McDowell does a great job of doing that and converting those plays to pick up those chunk plays as they call big yardage plays. He's been excellent, take care of the football and worked well under pressure.

But the Bobcats, they have a great front seven. They have a good secondary. They could be the team to make him uncomfortable. And that's going to be a major key because of Clifton. McDowell's groovin and he's slinging it around the field. The Grizzlies are really hard to beat. Keep him in the pocket. Don't let them extend plays. Have a quarterback spy that kind of a thing.

And that could really change the outlook the outlook of the ball game for the Bobcats. All right. As for the Grizzlies, first and foremost they need to slow down the Montana State rushing attack. That should be an obvious one. It's almost impossible to stop this Bobcats rushing attack. Chambers, Julius Davis and the rest of the bunch. But if they can contain the rushing attack, slow down the rushing attack, make Montana State Force, face some third and long, some tough situations that could be crucial for the Grizzlies.

Take a page out of Idaho's book. Keep that Montana State offense off the field as much as you can. Play the time of possession game, because the less the Bobcats offense is on the field, the better from the Montana Grizzlies, because that Bobcats offense can put up points in a hurry. God is slow down the rushing attack and at least contain them.

Force them into those tough situations, like I said, because if they're running for first down after first down, they're impossible to stop. Number two, be aggressive early. The Grizzlies, like I said, they've dominated their last three opponents opponents. They've outscored them 108 to 17. Let me say that again 108 points for the Grizz. And 17 points combined the last three weeks for SAC State, Portland State and Northern Colorado.

That being said, the Grizzlies need to let that momentum carry over, be aggressive early, take a couple shots on offense and stay aggressive on defense. They've been great at forcing QBs into bad throws, creating a lot of havoc around the football. And you're going to need to see that Saturday at Washington Grizzly Stadium because of the Bobcats. And it's a jump out to an early lead.

I'd say ten or more points. The Grizzlies are not a team built to play from a deficit. They want to be the aggressor. They want to go out and punch the Bobcats in the mouth first. They need to be aggressive. Let that momentum carry over because you don't want to find yourself in a 17 nothing hold on Montana State.

That's just an unbeatable, unwinnable battle. Number three if Montana wants to win this game, I think they really need to take care of the football and have a big day on special teams. I know this has been a coach talk. It's a little cliche, but you got to set the offense up in good positions to succeed, good field position and keep that defense out of those bad positions.

Do not let the Bobcats get short field because they will turn it into points more often than not. I do think the Grizzlies are going to need to come up with a big turnover or two to swing this game. Tommy Miller hasn't thrown an interception this year. Shawn Chambers one in. Excuse me, has two interceptions. Clifton McDaniel has thrown one interception.

So neither of these teams really turn the ball over much. If you're Montana, you cannot afford to lose the turnover battle. You need to take care of the football. I'm not saying Montana stick. You go out there and turn the ball over a bunch and make up for it, but I think they have the firepower. If they fell behind ten nothing.

I'm a little more confident the Bobcats can play from behind to make up for those turnovers. I think if you're the Grizzlies, you got to take care of the football, and I really think this game's going to come down to who can make a stop. A big play late. The Grizzlies have a knack for winning tight games for coming up with a big play.

And I think Junior Bergen I mentioned special teams. I think he breaks free for a big punt return, get him involved, let him do his thing. So if the Grays can pull this one off, look for the defense in special teams. As you'd expect from a Bobby Howe coach team to play a big role like they have all season long.

All right, before I give my prediction, when we close this thing out, quick reminder today's episode is brought to you by Nomad Mode, the flatheads best manufacturer. Nomad is a long time supporter of our community and the local sports scene, celebrating 20 years of building great careers and mission focused custom vehicles. Nomad, a Montana based company making a global impact, is at Nomad geeks.com.

For more info. That's Nomad geeks.com for more information. All right, let's close this thing out with my prediction for this year's Brawl the Wild, the defacto big Sky Championship game. All the marbles. It comes down to this one. So on paper, Montana State might have a slight edge in the talent category. I think coaching is very equal for these teams.

But I will say this from watching the Montana Grizzlies this year, as I said on the big Sky, now, our other show, we do a kind of like a southpaw boxer who's got a funky stance, very unorthodox, throws a couple jabs. Where where's a team? Down with the jab and throws a haymaker at the right time. They know how to win ugly.

And I think we're going to see an absolute slugfest this Saturday. They don't call it the brawl, all the while for nothing at Washington Grizzly Stadium. I got the Grizzlies coming out motivated in front of the home crowd and winning 31 to 27 to lock up the great to buy a trophy. A big sky title and a first round playoff bye.

Huge stakes in this year's Brawl the Wild. I'm going to Chris 3127. These teams are so evenly matched. Great coaching on both sides of on both sidelines. It's really going to come down to who can make a couple more plays. And I'm giving the Grizzlies the edge with that hometown home field advantage down in Missoula. I think that ends up being the difference maker because other than that, these two teams are pretty much neck and neck in almost every category.

Quarterback play Clifton McDowell chambers him a lot. Defense cross him out. I mean they really cancel each other out. It's going to come down to who can make 1 or 2 plays. And I got the Grizzlies winning an ugly one. Can't wait. It should be an absolutely epic game. Both teams in the top five big Sky title on the line.

So whether you're rooting for the Grizz rooting for the cats, enjoy the game. Have fun, be a civil as it can. Easier said than done. But you know, remember these are college kids leaving their hearts out on the line. So you know it's all fun and games a rivalry. But don't take it out on the athletes. We'll leave it.

That can't wait. It's going to be an absolutely epic weekend of football in Montana, with a state title action Friday and Saturday and the brawl the Wild Saturday. So that'll do it for this week's episode of Interleague Sports now. Thanks as always to Clark Auto Group and Nomad Geeks for the support. I'm Josh Dugan and I'm out.